Mattress cover and method of making the same



Jan. 26, 1937. J. R. JOHNSON v MATTRESS dOVER AND METHOD OF MAKING THESAME Filed March 1, 1935 A TTORNEi Patented Jan. 26, 1937 UNITED STATESMATTRESS COVER AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAIVIE James Reid Johnson, NewLondon, Conn., as-

signor to The Palmer Brothers Company, New

London, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application March 1,

7 Claims.

My invention relates to the exterior facing or cover of a mattress, forinstance of the class wherein a resilient core is inserted within apadded casing to form an unitary assembly.

Objects of my invention are to form such a facing or cover of a numberof pieces cut from a strip of textile material or fabric with a minimumof waste, to assemble these pieces to produce a facing of the properproportions and of a symmetrical, ornamental, panel like designdiffering from the design of the strip of material; to employ for thestrip of material a repeating design embodying certain fixed relationsbetween its repeating unit and the width of the strip and the dimensionsof the facing; to produce from the original strip of material aplurality of panellike designs in the finished facings; to accomplishthe desired results by employing a novel system of ornamentation for thestrip of material, and a peculiar method of cutting it into pieces forreassembling in ultimate form; and to secure the other advantageshereinafter pointed out and claimed.

Because of the size and shape of bedding mattresses it is desirable toapply to their broad faces ornamentation which will make them attractiveto the eye of the housewife or user, and, in order to avoid monotonousrepetition, ornamentation having the satisfying qualities of a complete,closed design, for instance, a panel, is found to be suitable.

To produce such panels by jacquard weaving is such a slow and expensiveprocess as to make the resulting product entirely too costly for anygeneral use; and to make them by roll printing requires that the designfor the entire length and width of the mattress must be engraved upon asingle printing roll which must be of a circumference equal to thelength of the design, plus the necessary leeway between the severalimprints and of a length exceeding the width of the mattress. Theproduction of such printing rolls and their operation is altogether tootedious and expensive for the successful commercial production of thedesired facing panels. But by the use of the method which I employ verysatisfactory results may be obtained.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 shows a strip of fabric\ bearing certain systemsof ornamentation thereupon; Fig. 2 shows a panel-like assembly of piecescut from said strip, on broken lines for instance as suggested in thedrawing, but not on the strip itself, to form a closed design; Fig. 3shows another panel-like assembly of other pieces, also cut from saidstrip on broken lines,

1935, Serial No. 8,789

the design, however, being reversed; Fig. 4 is a view, on an enlargedscale, of half of a panel of the type of Fig. 2.

The strip l is of a suitable fabric, and is shown as being of one halfthe width of the proposed 5 facing panel. For instance this strip may bethirty inches wide. It is shown as being provided with three systems ofornamentation, borders 2, 3 and medial stripe 4. These borders andstripe are formed of rather definitely spaced, repeating figures havinga predetermined relation to the width of the strip. For instance, if,the strip is 30 inches wide each of the design figures shown in theborders and stripe will be 6 inches long, as they are shown as repeatingfive times in the width of the strip.

The designs of the borders of the strip as shown are complementary toeach other; and it is desirable to maintain this same relationship inthe assembled panel. To do this, however, it is necessary to cut thefabric in a certain particular way.

In cutting the fabric it is necessary to take into account that amattress has the shape of a rectangular oblong, the length of which isgreater than the width. 25

Starting at or near one end of the fabric it is cut across diagonally atan angle of 45 degrees, as on broken line 5 of Fig. 1, preferablysevering the figures of the design midway. A distance 6, equal to thedesired difference between the length and width of the panel, is thenmeasured off on the margin 3 of the strip, this distance measuring adefinite number of ornamental units, for instance, in the illustrations,two. The fabric is then cut in the reverse direction to the former out,and again at an angle of 45 degrees, as on line 1, Fig. 1. This gives apiece of fabric ll. And similar pieces l2, l3 and I4 may then be cutfrom the strip. Triangular pieces l5, [6, I1 and IB may then be cut fromthe strip. This will give eight pieces of fabric. Alternate pieces arethen assembled into two panels, ll, l3, l5 and I1 into one panel, as inFig. 2; and I2, l4, l6 and I8 into another panel as in Fig. 3.

This method of cutting and assembling produces, without waste ofmaterial, except by the original diagonal out, two different panelpatterns. For it will be noted that in Fig. 2 the trend of the patternfigure is uniformly in one direction, while in the Fig. 3 the trend isreversed. It is important to have this uniformity of trend in any panel,in order to preserve symmetry of design and to permit the elements ofthe designs, severed by the diagonal cutting lines, to registerharmoniously with each other when the 55 pieces are assembled together.In that assembling, if the adjacent pieces are faced against each otherand sewed along their joining edges, the symmetry of the design will notbe destroyed; for it will simply be shortened equally on the edges ofeach piece and a proper balance will be retained.

The cutting of the pieces need not proceed in the identical orderdescribed above, as triangular pieces may be severed from between longerpieces so long as a properly balanced number of each is obtained, andthe assembling of each panel is done with alternate pieces.

While, for the best practice of my invention it is important that thelength of the unitary repeat design should be carefully regarded, yetthe particular form of ornamentation may be varied at will, the typesshown on the drawing being simple forms illustrating, diagrammatically,the principles of my invention.

My improvements enable me to use printing rolls of small diameter,-'forinstancepf four to six inches, and onlyhalf the width of thepanel inlength, for instance, 30 inches, which effects a great saving inthe'pro'duct-ion of the rolls and printing and engraving cost. Nothingneed be allowed on the rolls for leeway or skip between the paneldesigns' The design is continuously repeated, and it may boost asdirected, without any intermediate waste.

By means of myimprovements I am enabled to produce well balanced,symmetrical, paneldesigns from reassembled portions of a strip ofmaterial having continuous, ornamental designs thereupon, at greatlyreduced labor and expense and with most pleasing effects, mattressfacings, made as above, appealing to the buying public, and givingcontinuing satisfaction to purchasers anduse'rs. U I

By using rolls of the reduced sizes above suggested with a standardprinting machine I am enabled to print as high as sixteen colors-to apattern at one operation, and still secure the desired panel effect fora full sized mat-tress. This would be quite impracticable if the resultwas attempted with rolls of sufiicient diameter to print a completepanel at each revolution, as but a small number of such ro'l ls couldoperate in cooperation with a cylinder platen of practicable size. Theseadvantages will be obvious'to anyone familiar with the printing art.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to securebylletters Patent of the United States, is: H

1. The method of making an ornamented mattress facing consisting ofproducing a textile strip of half the width of the facing, having alongeach edge a continuous repetition of similar, uniformly spaced designunits of curved and irregular lines each divisible evenly into thelength and width of the facing, cutting the strip diagonally at anglesof forty five degrees into two right angled triangles and two sectionshaving oppositely inclined ends and longer than the base of eachtriangle by the length of one or more of said design units, assemblingthe two elongated pieces with their short sides adjoining, filling thespaces between the 'ends'of the elongated pieces with the triangularpieces, and securing the pieces in assembled relations, whereby theornamental elements are formed into a balanced, closed panel design witha continuous v border of substantially uniform pattern. v

2. he method of making an ornamental mattress facing consisting-ofproducing-atexti-le strip of half the width of the facing, having alongeach edge a continuous repetition of design units of a distinctivepattern each unit being divisible evenly into the length and width ofthe facing, and embodying curved and irregular lines, the patterns ofthe units being similar but reversed on the opposite edges, cutting the'strip diagonally at angles of forty five degrees into two right angledtriangles and two sections having oppositely inclined ends and longerthan the base of each triangle by the length of one or more of saiddesign units, assembling the two elongated pieces with their short sidesadjoining, filling the spaces between the ends of the elongated pieceswith the triangular pieces, and securing the pieces in assembledrelation, whereby the ornamental elements are formed into a balanced,closed panel design with a continuous border of substantially uniformpattern.

3. The method of making an ornamental mattress facing consistingofproducing .'a textile strip of half the width-of "the facing, havingthereupon a continuous repetition of uniformly spaced design units ofdistinctive pattern em-v bodying curved and irregular-lines, along eachedge, and another repetition :of-uniformly spac'ed design units ofdistinctive pattern an'diembodying curved and irregular lines midway ofthe strip, each design unit being divisible evenly into the length andwidth of thefacing, cutting the strip diagonally at angles of forty fivedegrees into two right angled triangles and two sections havingoppositely inclined ends and longer than the base of each triangleby'the length "of one or more of said design units, assembling the twoelongated pieces with their short sides adjoining, filling the spacesbetween the ends of the elongated pieces with the triangularpieces, andsecuring the pieces in assembled relations, whereby the ornamentalelements are formed into a balanced, closed panel design with a-con-'tinuous border of a substantially: uniform pattern. I I a 4. The methodof making ornamented. mattress fa'cings, consisting of producing. a"textile strip of half the width of the facing and having thereupon acontinuous repetition of uniformly spaced complementary design units ofa 'distir fdtive pattern and similar longitudinal trends along eachedge, each unit being evenly :divi's'ibleinto the length and width ofthe facing, cutting'th'e strip diagonally at degree angles-into lfourrelatively reversed r'ightifang'le'd triangles and four relativelyreversed elongated pieces with oppositely inclined ends and with sidesevenly divisible by the design units, assembling two a1- ternate,elongated pieces and two alternate triangles into a complete, closedpanel desi g n the ornamentation of which has a continuous desig-ntrend, and assembling the other elongated pieces and triangles intoanother closed panel design having a relatively reversed, continuousdesign trend. 5. The method of making ornamental mattress facings,consistingrof producing a textile 1 Strip of half the width "ofthefacing'and having thereupon a continuous repetition of*'comple=,-men-tary design unitso-f distinctive zpattern and definite trend alongeachuedge, and :an inter mediate, continuous repetitionbf' design unitsof distinctive pattern, each unit/being evenly divisible into the lengthand width of the facing, cutting the strip diagonally a't745 degreeangl'e's into four:relatively' reversedsright angled triangles and four'-relativelyareversedaelongated 15 pieces with oppositely inclined endsand with sides evenly divisible by the design units, assembling twoalternate, elongated pieces and two alternate triangles into a complete,closed panel design the ornamentation of which has a continuous designtrend, and assembling the other elongated pieces and triangles intoanother closed panel design having a relatively reversed continuousdesign trend.

6. An ornamental, rectangular, oblong mattress facing embodying inassembled relation two relatively reversed elongated sections and tworelatively reversed right angled triangles, the ornamentationexemplifying a continuous even repetition of marginal design unitshaving a uniform and relatively reversed trend, and a continuous evenrepetition of central design units having a uniform and relativelyreversed trend.

7. An ornamental, rectangular, oblong mattress facing embodying inassembled relation two relatively reversed elongated sections and tworelatively reversed right angled triangles, the ornamentationexemplifying a continuous even repetition of marginal design unitsembodying curved and irregular elements having a uniform trend, and acontinuous even repetition of central design units embodying curved andirregular elements having a uniform trend, and a continuous evenrepetition of intermediate design units embodying curved and irregularelements having a uniform trend.

JAMES REID JOHNSON.

